At the beginning of this month, the 50-year-old's Weatherfield character Vernon Tomlin hoped to win back the heart of his wife Liz McDonald (Bev Callard) by wooing her with the song intended as a put-down of her bookmaker lover Harry Mason (Jack Ellis).

Speaking of the song's success, Reddington told The Mirror: "I've been blown away by the response to the song, which was written by Street scriptwriters. There are talks to see if we can release it in time for Christmas. It would be fantastic to see it at No 1."

Ironically, Reddington's final scenes in the ITV soap, which air tonight, see a disappointed Vernon drive off in a van London-bound after securing a record deal. A preoccupied Liz, however, fails to turn up to say goodbye.